Ralph Shaheen, local business owner of Shaheen Chevrolet, who is also an avid hockey player, suddenly felt pain in his chest when doing stretches against a wall at the gym.
“I pressed against the wall and noticed it was sore,” said Shaheen. “I thought it was a hockey injury, since I play goalie. I thought I had been hit by a puck, and blew it off like most guys do. I kept thinking it would get better.”
It didn’t get better, and he found himself at the Cleveland Clinic for an Executive Health physical examination.
“When we were finishing up the exam, the doctor asked if I had any concerns,” said Shaheen. “My initial response was ‘no’ and then I said ‘yes, I am having some pain in my nipple.’”
The doctor then told Shaheen he was going to get a mammogram that day.
“After the mammogram, the technician came back in the room and said, ‘hang on a minute, the radiologist wants to talk to you’. I knew that wasn’t a good sign,” said Shaheen.
Shaheen then walked out of the Cleveland Clinic and into his home hospital, Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing, where they biopsied the breast tissue.
The official diagnosis was breast cancer.
“Cancer in men is about 1% of all breast cancer diagnoses,” said Dr. Jatin Rana, a medical oncologist at Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing. “The vast majority of men have a good outcome, like women, when the cancer is caught in an early stage. However, most men get diagnosed in later stages since they do not get annual mammograms or screenings and may not suspect breast cancer.”
Most men have estrogen-positive breast cancer. This means the cancer cells have receptors that attach to estrogen, a hormone that can fuel tumor growth. Men also have an excess of tissue around the nipple, which is where the cancer is likely to show up.
After his diagnosis, Shaheen had his nipple and the cancerous tissue behind it surgically removed. Following his surgery, he went through four weeks of radiation and four rounds of chemotherapy.
“Nothing tasted good, food didn’t taste good, water didn’t even taste good. My daughter bought me a 64-ounce water bottle and encouraged me to get enough to eat and drink every day,” said Shaheen. “Everyone rallied around me to make sure I had support at work and home. My goal was to keep my routine of going to work, playing hockey, and continuing to live my life, even during treatment.”
By trade, Ralph Shaheen is a salesman; however, when it comes to breast cancer awareness, his advice is free: “Get checked out. If you think that something might be wrong, go to the doctor. It could save your life.”
Learn more about mammogram options at the MSU Health Care at McLaren Greater Lansing Breast Imaging Center by clicking here. For more information about the Karmanos Cancer Institute at McLaren Greater Lansing, click here.
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